Spideyj's Musings

The US Department of State released their report on International Religious Freedom for 2005 yesterday. The section on Iran details the persecution of the Baha'is (and other religious minorities and women) quite clearly and is consistent with the reports we've been getting from our leadership here and in Israel. The Baha'i community here has been actively promoting awareness of the persecution by writing to our political leaders and by holding some public events commemorating some Baha'i martyrs. Last year our community held such a commemoration to acknowledge the anniversary of the martyrdom of the father of one of our community members, so this issue is very near to me. Baha'is are not permitted to own property, attend university, establish schools or hold government jobs and our blood is considered "mobah" which means it can be spilled with impunity. Baha'is are also not allowed to assemble, inhibiting the free exercise of our faith, especially as we have no clergy and our leaders are elected and the power of leadership resides within groups rather than individuals (the affairs of the Faith cannot be conducted without meetings, in other words).